


Three Days

by BrittJK



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-21
Updated: 2016-01-21
Packaged: 2018-05-15 08:48:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5779297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrittJK/pseuds/BrittJK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Small drabble about Killian's fears of being a father and his interactions with their newborn daughter. Fluff mostly. And now a place I can throw drabbles I end up writing in this universe because apparently that happened once.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello world! I have re-entered the fic writing with this tiny drabble. I may post other drabbles on this same fic if that ends up happening and they end up being written. But for now you get this.
> 
> I have fallen deep into the Captain Swan hole and I blame OUAT. I throw this into the void of the interwebs and hope you like it.

 

Three days.

Killian has faced a whirlwind of emotions in the past three days, each and every one of them revolving around the small bundle that Emma is placing slowly into a bassinette across from the couch.

Charlotte Leia Jones arrived in a hurry, two weeks early, and thankfully in a moment of peace in Storybrooke. She weighed in at 6 pounds, 3 ounces, and she was the spitting image of her mother – other than the brightest blue eyes Killian had only ever seen on one other person.

For the longest time, even longer when he thinks about how time passes in the underworld, Killian never thought he would get this in life. Never thought he could have someone to love, and a child of his own to care for. And now that he has it all – he feels like his heart may explode from all the love. He also feels he would explode from the terror of it all. Especially the thought of being a good father, of not being like his own, of not being like the man who killed his own.

Thankfully, he has yet to face little Charlotte on his own – the past three days had everyone and their dwarf visiting, bringing food, holding the babe. Their fridge is stocked with enough food from Granny's to !last a month. Henry has been in and out between being interested in his new sister and being more interested in his newest X-box game. There wasn't a time when David or Mary Margaret weren't in the house either, young Neal wandering in and out along with Henry. Regina had even come by, bringing Roland and Robin and their toddler. At some point in time he thinks all seven dwarves were attempting to get their personalized onesies onto Charlotte. It was chaos.

And yet, sitting with Emma on the couch, looking at the small wrapped up bundle, and listening to the silence – he kind of wishes everyone would come back.

Emma's head is beginning to droop, leaning on Killian's shoulder. He smiles, places a kiss to the top of her hair.

"God, don't kiss my hair," Emma moans, "I swear I haven't washed it since before Charlotte was born."

Killian lets out a small chuckle. "You're still just as beautiful, Swan. And I've dealt with worse – you wouldn't believe how hard it is to get a decent wash in on the seas."

Emma snuggles in closer to Killian, and he can feel the smile on her face. The two sit in silence, staring at the yawning child, at the pink in her cheeks and the small blonde flecks coming out of her head. Killian thinks Emma may have dozed off when she leans up and lets out a yawn of her own.

"Okay, I think I need a shower. Or a nap." Emma reaches out, stretching her arms above her head. "Or a nap in the shower."

She gets up, and Killian's eyes widen. "Love, wait, can you just?"

Emma turns around, the panic evident in Killian's tensed body. She glances at Charlotte, whose tiny eyes are beginning to close, and bends down so she is crouched between Killian's legs.

"I've never been left alone with her," Killian says. It's almost a whisper, thrown out into the distance where it won't be found. But of course Emma knew his real fears long before Charlotte was born.

"You won't be like him. You won't leave her, or let her down, or betray her." Killian looks up at Emma, staring into her eyes. "Just like you haven't done any of those things to me." A small smile, a glimpse of hope, but Killian pushes it away to leave a mask of nerves.

"What if she?"

"Killian." Emma interrupts, one hand coming up to run down the right side of his cheek. "It's just a shower. Twenty minutes at best. You won't be alone with her forever."

"I know but-" Killian starts.

"No buts. She's fed, she's changed, she isn't too fussy right now. You can do this Killian. You were great with her when everyone else was here, and you will be great with her now." Charlotte lets out another tiny yawn. "Besides, she will probably sleep the whole time anyways."

"I suppose you're right." Killian concedes, turning his head to place a kiss to Emma's palm. "And you could use a shower." He adds, noticing some dried baby drool in Emma's hair, along with the various stains on the tee-shirt she is wearing.

"Thanks, Killian," Emma says sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she stands to go shower. She stops at the bassinette, placing a kiss on her hand and tapping it onto the baby's forehead. As she heads out, Killian's small voice stops her.

"What do I do if she stirs?" He asks, his voice once again small and scared.

Emma turns towards him, leaning on the doorway. After a pause, she says, "Sing to her. Or tell her a story. Your voice always calmed her down before."

Killian thinks back to the restless nights during Emma's pregnancy when Charlotte wouldn't calm down and Emma could barely get any sleep. Some nights he would sing an old sea shanty to her belly, or tell stories from his pirating days, or just read from Henry's storybook. Without fail, twenty minutes later Emma would be snoozing quietly and Charlotte had calmed down. "Aye, it did."

With one final smile, Emma leaves the room and heads upstairs.

Killian sits in silence, listening to the small sounds of breathing coming from the bassinette. It is the quietest the house has been in weeks – no building of baby furniture, no discussing names or colours to paint the nursery, no family or friends coming by with presents or well wishes or food. Just quiet – quiet and soft breathing. Somehow through the silence Killian is vaguely aware of the sounds of pipes and water turning on.

_This isn't so bad_ , Killian thinks to himself. He flexes his fake hand, still trying to get used to the magical one Regina had made him. He is able to move the hand, to use it properly, but is unable to feel anything through it. It makes things easier – dexterity is useful for many things. And it did qualm one of his fears of fatherhood – a hook is much easier to poke a child with than a hand.

Standing, Killian leans over the bassinette and watches Charlotte as she breathes. Her eyes are wide open, but yet she lets out another yawn. Killian reaches his good hand in, running his thumb over her tiny curls, lingering as he reaches her cheek. Charlotte turns her head, her mouth searching for his thumb. When he pulls away, she lets out a small whimper.

_Oh no, no no no._ Killian thinks, his hand going back to stroke down her face. But alas, it is too late. The small whimpers turn into small exhales, and those turn into tears. The tears turn into full blown wails and Killian's hand stroking her cheek is doing absolutely nothing to calm Charlotte down.

"Bloody hell," Killian swears, then catches himself. "Sorry, love, but I don't know what to do." He removes his hand and paces the length of the room. Returning, Charlotte's wails have only gotten stronger and she doesn't seem to be stopping. "I can't… I've never…"

Tentatively, Killian reaches down and lifts the small bundle into his arms. He is vaguely aware of everyone reminding him to cradle her head, and so Killian does just that. His fake hand is under Charlotte's bottom, her body resting along his arm. His good hand comes along to hold behind her head, bringing her close to his body. This seems to help, just a little. The wails calm down, only so much to be classified as crying without trying to scream one's head off.

Killian moves, starts pacing. He saw David do this with young Neal quite a bit, walking around the apartment seemed to sooth the boy. But Charlotte is having none of it, her cries increasing in volume as he continues to pace.

"Charlotte, I can't do this, love," He says, his feet never stopping to move. "I don't know why you're crying, and Emma is in the bloody shower, and I am all alone and I have no bloody idea what to do and you won't stop crying and I'm just not bloody good at this. I can't do this," Killian pauses, his thoughts coming clearer now that the room has stopped being filled with sound. He looks down at the babe in his arms, who is staring up at him with bright blue eyes. The tears have stopped, but now in the silence she lets out a small whimper.

"Please, don't start up again," Killian says. As he does, Charlotte's whimpers stop. A single lone tear rolls down her cheek.

"Talking…." Killian starts, his thumb sweeping over to remove the tear. "You want me to keep talking. That'll keep you from crying, will it?" Charlotte hiccups, and Killian takes it like an answer.

"Well, keep talking I will then." He moves, tentatively, to go sit down on the couch. "Emma told me to talk, but I don't even know what to talk to you about. I can't tell you about my pirate adventures now, those aren't appropriate for your ears. Emma would kill me if I told you stories from the underworld. And by no means will she have me tell you of how you were made." By now Killian is sitting on the couch. He pauses in his speech, looking down at the tiny bundle in his arms. She lets out another whimper.

"I am horrible at this, aren't I?" Killian sighs, leaning down in the couch and snuggling Charlotte closer. "Well, what if I tell you a story of…" He thinks for a minute, and Charlotte blinks her big blue eyes up at him. "Bloody hell. Let's tell you the story of someone else who shared those eyes, my big brother Liam."

And, as the words flow freely from Killian's mouth, the small child in his arms doesn't seem as scary as before. Especially not in the way she seems to snuggle closer into his warmth as the stories progress, or in the way that her eyes stare up in wonder. Perhaps he could do this after all.

* * *

Almost thirty minutes later, Emma walked back down to the living room. She felt refreshed, albeit exhausted. Her hair was washed and in a neat braid, she was wearing a clean pair of sweatpants and one of Killian's tops, and she had used Killian's soap so she smelt like him. When she had come out of the shower, she had debated taking a short nap but nixed that in favour of helping Killian with his fear of being alone with little Charlotte. After all, she had left him for ten minutes longer than she had said she would.

When she reached the bottom step, however, Emma could distinctly hear the sound of Killian talking. She walked slowly up to the side of the room, peering in around the corner to keep him from seeing.

Sitting on the couch was her pirate, a calming smile on his face as he continued through his story. In his arms was Charlotte, wrapped in her pink blanket, breathing slowly and staring with wide eyes up at her father. Killian's good hand was held above Charlotte, her tiny hand poking out from the blanket and wrapped around his thumb.

"And then Liam finally pulled the fish up from the net – it was practically as big as I was and I was already a good size. He held the fish up triumphantly, and declared that we needn't go hungry again. Liam and I had lived off of that fish for a week before it started to rot." There was a pause, ample time for Emma to pull out her phone and snap a few quick photos. "You know, you have a big brother too. His name is Henry, you've met him a few times." Charlotte lets out a hiccup. "Yes, so you have heard of him. Well, if you and Henry have a relationship like Liam and I did, then I'd say you're set in the family department. Though, please don't tell your mother how much I swore a few minutes ago. It's not my fault I have fears about this, but I seem to be getting the hang of it, don't you think?" Another hiccup, and Charlotte's eyes start to close. "Well, perhaps I should continue to entertain you. How about the story of…"

Emma misses whatever other story Killian might be telling, slowly creeping back up the stairs. Seeing him with Charlotte, seeing him so at ease after just thirty minutes or so – well, that disperses any fears Emma had about their future as parents. Killian was doing just fine, fears and all.

She could definitely afford to take that twenty minute nap.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I cannot express how amazed and loved I felt by all the Kudos and comments you guys made on the first chapter. This was a little thing I wrote that got me back into the fic-writing mode (and now I have four WIPs and I blame this and you in the best way possible). I am astounded by all the love in this fandom, and I hope you all really like this chapter too! <3

 

One thing that Killian and Emma had established early on, probably when Charlotte was fourteen months and clawing her way out of her crib every night, was that Charlotte was not allowed to fall asleep in their bed and stay there. If any late-night snuggling were to occur, or if Charlotte would come into the bedroom after a nightmare, they would always make sure she was back in her bed before falling asleep. Emma wanted to avoid coddling her too much, make sure she gets some independence as she grows up. Killian agreed that, no matter how much he loves watching Charlotte fall asleep on his chest, they should establish sleep boundaries.

They had been sticklers for the rules practically every night in Charlotte's two-and-a-half years. There was the time she had the flu, and literally the only place Charlotte would sleep was curled up on Killian's chest, but other than that, it was Charlotte's bed for sleeping.

Killian had actually been pretty good at keeping lots of Emma's rules, and collaborating on his own too. Though he had many initial doubts about being a father, most stemming from his relationship with his own, Killian had fallen into being Charlotte's dad whole-heartedly. That is to say, the tiny child held all of his heart. Occasionally those doubts would come back up – like when Charlotte fell and scraped her knee, or when she had the flu and wouldn't sleep, or the first time he had a solo diaper change. Or especially the first time he had a solo exploded diaper change. But all the while he has Emma standing behind him cheering him on, proving that Killian is everything his own father wasn't.

And Charlotte – she is a Daddy's girl through and through. Always wanting to hear his bedtime stories over her mother's, always wanting to ride on the Jolly Roger (another rule was life vests – one Killian was 100% on board with). When it was play time, Charlotte would always scream out with glee calling for "Captain Daddy!" to come play. She knew how to push Killian's buttons, how to give him the pouty face and get an extra cookie, how to snuggle up just right that Killian gives her an extra five minutes of staying up before going to her own bed. Nine times out of ten, Charlotte would choose her father over her mother for anything.

Unfortunately for Killian, tonight was the one night out of ten.

The day had started out well enough – Emma and Henry getting ready to go on their weekend trip to visit colleges nearby. Charlotte had tons of fun helping Emma finish packing, grabbing extra socks from upstairs and helping Henry figure out which snacks to bring. She didn't even have a tantrum as she watched Emma's yellow bug drive away, her mom and brother off for a fun-filled adventure. Killian was even impressed when his little duckling didn't make a fuss when she had to go down for a nap. But then it all started going downhill at dinner.

Killian had taken Charlotte out to Granny's, opting not to cook at least the first night (his arsenal of things that he could cook were big – his arsenal of things he could cook that Charlotte would eat on the other hand…) and let Charlotte have her favourite grilled cheese. Dinner was shared with her uncle and grandparents, which took Charlotte's mind off of not having her mom for the night. But then, just before leaving Granny's, they had a skype call with Emma and Henry.

"…Yeah, the campus looks awesome and it's so close to where I used to hang out back when mom and I lived in New York!" Henry was saying, his eyes lighting up talking about the NYU campus. "And I even got to see a couple of my old friends! It's so great – isn't it Mom?"

"Yeah, fantastic," Emma says, smiling down at her son. "And I like how close it is to Storybrooke. Because, you know, I am sure Regina will be expecting weekend visits…"

"Yes, and Prince Neal is not nearly old enough to babysit Charlotte yet, so you have to come visit often," Killian adds, causing Henry to roll his eyes.

"Mommy read me story tonight?" Charlotte pipes up from Killian's lap, her small hand reaching out to touch Emma's face on the screen.

"How about Daddy does tonight, Charlie?" Emma asks.

"Nooooooo," Charlotte whines, her hands reaching out again to the screen. "I want Mommy!"

Killian bounces Charlotte up in his arms, bending down to look in her eyes. "Mommy is staying out with Henry tonight, remember? How about I tell you the one about the princess and the pirate again?" he asks, hoping to distract the girl with her favourite story.

It doesn't work. Charlotte's face starts to crumple, and Killian can feel a full blown meltdown coming on.

"Charlie… Charlotte – look at Mommy," Emma says, grabbing the phone from Henry on her side so she is the only one in frame. It takes a moment, but Charlotte turns to the voice on the screen. "We talked about this last night, didn't we? You get to have a whole bunch of Daddy time and I'll be back before you know it. Just like magic."

"But it's not magic," Charlotte says, a single tear beginning to roll down her face. "Magic makes Mom come home."

Emma sighs across the screen, and Killian is well aware just how awful his evening is going to become.

"Trust me, Charlie. A little bit more Daddy time and I'll be home before you know it! And so will Henry!" Emma says, pulling Henry back into the frame. She gives him a look that says "distract your sister", as Killian tries to keep bouncing Charlotte to keep her from crying.

"Hey! Charlie!" Henry calls from the screen, instantly pulling her attention away, though she is still whimpering. "Wanna play a game with me while we are gone?"

This gets Charlotte's attention – as it usually does. "Game?" she asks, a sniffle coming out after. Killian grabs a napkin from the table and gently wipes her leaking nose.

"Yeah! A really, really fun game! It's called…" Henry looks to his mother who just shrugs back "… uh… story writer! Yeah… story writer!"

Charlotte perks up a bit more. "Story writer?" she asks. Killian goes to wipe her nose again, but she swats him away.

"Yeah, it's this super fun game, but you can only play it when you aren't with us, okay? See, what you have to do is you have to have the best most fun time ever and then write a story about it. But you have to keep it a secret – see? And then when you see us again we tell each other our stories, and whoever's has the most fun in it wins!" By the end of the explanation, Emma has a proud smile on her face while Killian's is more in the realm of grateful. "Doesn't that sound fun, Charlotte?" Henry asks.

"I dunno…" she says, her eyes not straying from Emma's face on the screen.

"Oh, I think it is tons of fun!" Killian says from behind Charlotte, pulling her eyes momentarily from the screen. "Think of the amazing stories we will have to tell! And all the fun we will have making them? We could maybe even go out on the Jolly tomorrow and make some pirating stories!"

"I guess…" Charlotte starts, before she is cut off by Emma.

"Yeah – you guys are going to have so much fun! You have a whole ship to play on! We just have boring New York."

With another few prompts from her parents, and a true promise to go aboard the Jolly the following day to make some stories for their game, Charlotte manages not to cry when saying goodbye to Emma and Henry and closing off the call. Emma and Killian were aware this would happen – it was the first time that Charlotte was going longer than one night without one of her parents. And it wasn't even a fun sleepover at her grandparent's house – this was normal life but without her Mom. They had expected the meltdown on Saturday night, Sunday even. Not Friday before she had gone a full 24 hours without Emma.

After the skype-call fiasco, Granny offers a hot chocolate to go for Charlotte, but Killian refuses knowing she doesn't need a sugar high this close to bedtime. Especially if she is already getting cranky (though if Charlotte had found out she could have gotten hot chocolate, Killian would not have been able to say no to her sad eyes).

And when they get home, and Killian announces it is time for a bath and bed, he is met with more reluctance than most days. It ends with Killian chasing around a bare-bottomed Charlotte through the house until he can finally grab her and lift her into the bath. Once she is in the water though, it calms her down and she ends up being pretty content playing with the bubbles.

"See, Charlie? This isn't so bad," Killian says, his shirt long gone after getting soaked from Charlotte's splashing. He has taken off his brace, opting for bath time to forgo his magic arm Regina had given him. He has his right arm floating back and forth over the water, moving the bubbles with him as he waits for Charlotte to feel ready to leave the warm bubbly water.

"Is Mommy coming home tomorrow?" Charlotte asks, her voice smaller than the delighted giggles she was shrieking not five minutes prior.

Killian sighs, his hand coming up out of the water and running over his face. "Charlie, we told you be-" But Killian doesn't get to finish telling Charlotte what she already knows about her mother's weekend trip, because he is interrupted by shrieks of laughter from the little girl.

"Daddy!" She says, he hand coming up and pointing at his face. "You have a bubble –stache!" She starts to laugh again, forgetting her earlier sadness and fighting to stay upright in the bath.

"Huh?" Killian says, standing up to look at himself in the mirror over the sink. Sure enough, he had a nice long bubble beard, along with a sizeable moustache and even a few bubble eyebrows. "Well, so I do…" he says, sitting back down on the floor. With a mischievous grin, Killian leans down and grabs a pile of bubbles in his open hand, dropping them on top of Charlotte's head. "It does not compare to your beautiful bubble crown though, duckling!"

This causes Charlotte to let out a loud giggly screech, her hands coming up to grab at the bubbles now in her hair. And from there, the two get into a massive bubble fight – Killian's face and chest, and the bathroom floor, getting covered in most of the bubbles. By the time the fight is done, Charlotte is all giggled out and wrapped in a fluffy towel held tight against her dad's chest.

Killian uses the towel to wipe away at Charlotte's hair, making sure all the bubbles are out and she is drying nicely. When Charlotte's tiny hand comes up to grab at his nose, coming off with a small pile of bubbles, Killian uses the towel to wipe off his own face as well.

"What do you say we go to bed now, Charlie?" Killian asks, walking the girl to her bedroom as she snuggles into the towel.

"I guess so…" she says, a yawn coming out of her mouth. "Story first?"

Killian chuckles, putting Charlotte down on her feet so he can grab her nightgown. "How about you get this on, and I go throw on my sleep clothes as well, and then we can hear the one about the Princess and the Pirate?"

"Okay Daddy," Charlotte replies, shivering a little as the towel falls to the ground and she goes to grab the nightgown in Killian's outstretched hand.

Five minutes later Killian comes back into Charlotte's bedroom to see her sitting among the piles of stuffed animals on her big-girl bed (a gift she got when she turned two from her grandparents).

"Any room for me in there, Duckling?" Killian asks, only to be met by some giggles.

"You can be next to me and Prince Bearington" Charlotte replies, pushing one of her bears aside and making room for her dad. Even with the extra spot, Killian still has to lift Charlotte up so she is sitting on top of him so they both fit on the small bed.

"Alright then," Killian says, a bit of relief in his voice when Charlotte yawns again and snuggles up to his chest. Apparently a good bubble bath was all Charlotte needed to forget about her mom not being there. "Where shall we begin?"

"Start with the bean stock!" Charlotte cries, reaching out to grab another one of her stuffed bears and hold it close. "I like the bean stock part."

"Ah, yes, the bean stock," Killian starts. "Once upon a time, in a far-away land called the Enchanted Forest, lived a pirate. This pirate needed to get something down from a bean stock, but to do so he needed help from a princess who came from a faraway land – a land called-"

"STORYBROOKE!" Charlotte interjects.

"Aye, Storybrooke," Killian laughs. "Yes, now the pirate had a secret mission he had to complete, but all of that changed when he met the princess…"Killian continues to tell the story, Charlotte's interjections getting fewer and farther between as he goes on. Eventually, right at about the time when the Princess is tying up the pirate, Killian notices Charlotte's steady breathing as she cuddles with her stuffed bear on Killian's chest.

Slowly, to not wake his daughter, Killian maneuvers himself out from beneath the sleeping child. He lays Charlotte back under her covers, placing a kiss to her forehead and smoothing back some of her hair. "Sleep well, my duckling," he says, leaving one last kiss to her forehead.

Feeling the weariness of the day, Killian makes his way back to his own bedroom. He sends off a text to Emma, letting her know that Charlotte is down for the night and seemed to do a lot better. They'd work on Henry's "game" in the morning.

After a quick trip to the bathroom, and a positive reply from Emma, Killian collapses on the bed and falls asleep without even having a chance to get under the covers.

He is awoken at two in the morning, a small warm presence shaking his back and a few wet drops falling on him as well. Letting out a small groan, Killian rolls over to find Charlotte's tear-stricken face shaking him up. As soon as she notices he is up, Charlotte collapses into his arms and starts to bawl, mumbling between cries about a nightmare.

"Charlotte, my duckling," Killian says, his arms wrapping around the girl as he holds her tight. "What happened?" Killian tries to rub soothing circles on her back, but she doesn't calm down.

"Nightmare…. Scary… want Mommy…" Charlotte manages to get out in between sobs.

Killian's heart breaks as he holds on to his daughter, wishing that he could calm her down just a little. "Bloody hell," he mutters under his breath, placing a kiss to her forehead and sitting up in bed.

"Charlotte, you've got to calm down. Please, you'll never get back to sleep if you keep at it like this," Killian pleads.

"No!" Charlotte cries, her tears not stopping. "Want Mommy! Can't sleep! Nightmare!"

Killian shakes his head, knowing that telling Charlotte that Emma isn't there will not help. He needs a way to distract her, to make her feel safe again. He tries to think back of the other times Charlotte has had nightmares, but usually Emma is the one to wake up and deal with this issue, as it is one of the only times Charlotte really wants her mom. Killian has his experience with nightmares, but his only coping mechanism was to drown himself in rum until he didn't dream anymore. This is definitely not a suggestion he can make to Charlotte. What was it that Emma always did? What was it Killian read about in all of those parenting books? Something about… aha!

"Charlotte… My duckling… look at me," Killian says, drawing the girl back so she could turn her head and look at him. The tears do not stop, the sobs continue, but at least she is looking at him. "Why don't you tell me what the nightmare was about?"

Charlotte starts to talk, the words coming out between sobs. "There was… a big dinosaur. And he was trying to eat you and Mommy. And then the dinosaur could swim even when you went off on your ship. And then it ate Mommy and she didn't come back and then you were going away and you didn't come back either and I had to make sure you were back you have to be back!" Charlotte collapses back into Killian's arms, her sobs out full force again.

Though distorted by the mind of a two-and-a-half year old, Killian knows quite well the dreams of losing someone. So he tries to calm her down by saying, "Charlotte, I want you to know that I am not going anywhere. And neither is Mommy." Charlotte's sobs slowly down, her head nodding in agreement. "Now, what you saw was just a nightmare, and it wasn't real, okay?"

"But what if it was?" comes her small voice.

"It wasn't," Killian says, total confidence in his voice when in his mind he is terrified of saying the wrong thing. "And when you go back to bed you will wake up in the morning and I will be right here, and we will call Mommy so you can see she is here too."

"But what if you go away while I sleep?" Charlotte asks. "What if the dinosaurs come and I wake up and you're gone?"

Killian sighs. He knows exactly how to help, in a way no one could help him when Liam or Mila would haunt his own dreams. But, he couldn't. It would break their rule. It would break – oh, screw it.

"Well, if you stayed here with me when we slept, then you'd know I'm okay, right?" Killian asks, his voice calming. Internally, he can already hear Emma chastising him for breaking the rules.

Charlotte's tears subside, and after a minute of thinking, she nods. A hand comes up to wipe away her snot and tears, and she curls up on Killian's chest as he slides back down on the bed.

Killian rubs soothing circles on Charlotte's back as the last of her whimpers and hiccups run out, his mind racing about how to save this from happening the next day.

"Hey, little duckling?" Killian asks, hoping Charlotte is still awake.

"Yes, Daddy?" she answers, her small face turning up to look at his eyes.

"This is our little secret, okay? You sleeping here with me. We don't tell Mommy when she gets back, and sleeping in Mom and Dad's bed is only for when Mommy is away. Captain's orders, Aye?"

Charlotte nods, curling back up against his chest. "Okay, Captain Daddy."

Killian smiles, crisis hopefully averted. And, once he knows from her steady breathing that Charlotte is indeed asleep again, Killian allows himself to follow her to dreamland too.

Even though they make lots of fun stories to tell Henry during the day, Charlotte still sleeps in Killian's bed with him the next two nights.

Emma doesn't find out until Killian and Henry go away on a weekend boating trip, and Charlotte demands to sleep in her bed. They agree this can be the one exception to the rule.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS I have nothing else written for this yet but if I ever update it you will all be the first to know! Thanks so much for all the love!

**Author's Note:**

> PS I may add drabbles in this series as I write them. There is a second already :)


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